There are plenty of people to blame for the rapid disintegration of the Eagles’ season. Andy Reid. Michael Vick. Throw in a defense that has been grossly disappointing.

However, former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann puts most of the blame on the Eagles’ woeful offensive line.

"Mike has no offensive line in front of him," Theismann told Sporting News in a telephone interview. "I watched the New Orleans-Philadelphia game Monday night, and what I saw was a man running for his life.

"I blame the management of the Philadelphia Eagles for some of this. Two years ago, you took a guy who was an offensive line coach, and a damn good one in Juan Castillo, away from the offensive line. Then you made him a defensive coordinator. The offensive line has been bad for the last couple of years. It’s been an Achilles' heel for them since he left.

"I watched that line against the Saints, and I’m convinced there are good college teams that could do a better job than they did. If you’re an offensive lineman, there’s got to be some want-to in you. You want to be able to defeat the person in front of you. You want to be able to protect your quarterback. You want to be able to create holes for your running game. What I saw in the Philadelphia Eagles was no want. I saw a lot of what-ifs. If anybody but Michael Vick was back behind that line, they would’ve had 10 sacks in that game."

The Eagles’ line issues may get worse before they get better, with right tackle Todd Herremans suffering a season-ending injury Monday night. Theismann said he could understand Reid’s reluctance to start rookie quarterback Nick Foles.

Not that Vick is without blame in Theismann’s view. He criticized Vick for being slow to react to blitzes, and for his propensity for turnovers.

"If you have an empty backfield, you’ve got to know that there’s got to be hots on either side," Theismann said. "You can’t just drop back and look a certain way. He’s got to be in self-preservation mode behind that offensive line.

"Now, Michael has to protect the football better. He’s never been good at keeping the ball to his chest. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Eli Manning—very seldom do you see them get hit and the ball come out."

Despite Vick’s shortcomings, Theismann is not convinced Vick can no longer be a winning starter in the NFL. Even if Reid is fired, which becomes more likely with each loss, Theismann says the Eagles should consider keeping Vick.

"The Eagles’ problems go far beyond Michael Vick," Theismann said. "I see Michael as a starter in this league. I just think he’s been put in some very, very bad situations. Compounding some of his bad decisions, and bad play, he’s been put in bad situations. And that’s a fact.’’

Here’s another fact. The Eagles (3-5) host the Cowboys (3-5) on Sunday. And if the Eagles’ losing streak grows to five games, Reid, Vick, and their offensive line will be under even more fire.